Fins
by Deanstiel's Daughter
Summary: Sam and Dean head down to Beverly Beach, Florida to investigate a peculiar string of ocean related deaths. Once there they meet a local bartender named Aubrey Fenster who may be closer to the case than she could have ever imagined.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The air was muggy, but warm as usual. That was the way Florida was any time of year and everyone who lived there knew it. The breeze always blew through the palm trees near the docks a certain way in the summertime. At least that was what Curtis Mann observed every night from his old fishing boat and home. The boat had been in the water ever since his father had given it to him and never once had he had a problem with it. It was just as his father had told him. If he treated her right she'd never break down and Curtis had done so. Curtis spent his every waking moment on the water, using his nets to snare fish and bring them in to shore all for a profit. Curtis loved the sounds the water made as it lapped against the sides of hi s boat, almost as though the liquid was kissing it.

Curtis had given his heart and soul to the ocean years prior when he'd just been a little kid. He was always taken back to the simpler days when he'd run up and down the shoreline with his sister and collect shells, taking them home to place on his bookshelf. But those days were long since over and he doubted his sister even remembered doing any of it. She never talked to him anymore anyway. He sighed and walked from the dining table in his boat's cabin towards his little bed in the back. He had the best view of the stars in the back where the moon shone just right and he could look out of the window and see it reflecting on the water.

Curtis took a deep breath and let it out. He rubbed at his stubbly chin and stretched. He really needed to shave something awful, but the job had taken up most of his time and he'd found he'd let himself go a little. He never cared though; it was the mark of a hard working man, some hair on the face. Plus nobody cared how anyone looked in Florida. It was mostly drunken tourists and Disney freaks anyway. The top two things Curtis avoided. He barely drank, avoiding making occasional trips to any of the bars lining the shoreline, or so he told his family. Over the past few years the job had started to wear on him. He'd turned to alternative methods of coping with stress rather than the healthier ones and as much as his family had belittled him in the past simply for choosing the job he had, he didn't really want to bring up his coping strategies with them.

Suddenly the boat rocked a little. Curtis didn't give it much thought, chalking it up to a rogue wave from another boat passing by, but as he stared out of the back window of the boat he found there were no other vessels around for miles. Confused, he spun around and made his way to the front of the boat. His radar showed no indication of a storm coming and all of his other instruments were in order. He was about to shrug it off and leave before the sonar system he'd installed himself on his day off picked up on something big underneath him. The boat shook again and Curtis stared at the blip on the screen as it moved back and forth. He grabbed the rifle he kept in the nearby chest and loaded it before proceeding onto the front deck.

He didn't see anything. The thing had been on the sonar moments prior and it beeped again, indicating it was coming back. Curtis cocked the gun and pointed it at the moving water. The thing darted under the waves when Curtis made contact with a fin protruding above the water. He cursed under his breath. He'd tried to shoot a shark. They were common to the area, but none had ever been known to be as aggressive as the particular shark underneath him was being. It appeared again a moment later, fin bleeding, but still going and knocking itself against the side of Curtis' boat. Curtis slipped and fell, the gun clattering on the deck. He cursed louder and scrambled up to try and take aim again, but the shark was faster. It slammed into his boat this time and Curtis fell closer to the stepladder leading down to the water. He coughed and winced at the pain he felt in his hip.

He was seeing stars and not the ones in the sky or on the waves. The shark was ramming his boat for no reason. Curtis tried to stand, but he found he was unable. The last fall had majorly injured him. And he could barely move. He couldn't reach the rifle either. Curtis looked over at the water lapping on side of the boat and under the dock. If he could get up he could reach the steps up onto the dock and he could get help. He tried to get up, but he also couldn't reach the ladder. Curtis found he didn't have a spare moment because suddenly the shark rammed the boat again and Curtis went tumbling into the water. He came up from the depths, sputtering and coughing, struggling to keep afloat. He was unable to hold onto anything with his injuries. It hurt too badly to swim over to anything and it was taking everything he had to stay above the waves where he was.

Curtis saw the fin and he knew immediately there was no way he was going to escape the shark. He swallowed hard and tried to swim away as fast as he could, but once again the shark was faster. In one swift motion, the shark grabbed a hold of Curtis' midsection and the man cried out in agony. He could feel the shark's teeth digging into his flesh and organs and he gasped for air which wasn't coming to him at all anymore. Curtis sent out one last prayer to God and he closed his eyes, letting himself fade into darkness away from the pain as he sunk below the waves as though he'd never been there at all.

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	2. Beverly Beach

" **Just behind the reef are the big white teeth of the sharks that can swim on the land." –Jimmy Buffett**

One

"Aubrey!" the voice of her boss, Jim Watermen, broke Aubrey Fenster out of her trance and back to reality. "I need you behind the bar sweetheart. We're gonna have customers lining up for their mimosas in an hour, hop to it!"

"Yeah," Aubrey came back to her senses, pulling her chestnut brown hair up into a ponytail and adjusting her apron before hurrying over to where she'd left her wet dish rag. "Sorry..."

Aubrey got to work cleaning off the tables near the windows overlooking the road and the beach across the way from the bar and grill. She found herself staring out the window as she lifted up the salt and pepper shakers and the napkin holder and put them back down again. The waves were lapping against the shore like they were kissing the sand. Some tourists and locals bustled about on the street in front of her, pointing at birds and shells and pedaling on bicycles to wherever it was they were going. Aubrey was used to it though. She'd grown up in the town of Beverly Beach, Florida and she'd seen it all really. Her family had settled there long before she'd been born and made a 'nest' as they'd called it when she'd been a little girl.

Aubrey had been a total toe head as a little girl. She had spent almost her entire childhood on the beach, collecting shells and even swimming when the waves were safe for her to. But once her father had died the trips had stopped and her mother's grief had become almost too much to bear. Aubrey had escaped to the shore in every spare moment she'd been given. Her father might have been gone, but the curiosity he'd gifted her with had never died. Eventually her mother had remarried and introduced a stepdad and stepbrother into the family. At first Aubrey had been defensive of the choice, knowing no one could ever replace her father, but as she grew older she realized Billy Grappel, the man her mother had married, made her happy. Aubrey had found a new friend as well, in her stepbrother Finn Grappel who was only three years younger than her, but just as smart. Finn had come from inland Indiana and was especially grateful the chance to be by the ocean. He'd told Aubrey he'd dreamed of living on the water since he'd been young. Aubrey had found the fact that they shared the same love for the water comforting in the wake of her father being gone.

Often they'd simply walked the beach looking for creatures which inhabited the shore and other times they'd taken off under the water on clear days and dove down for shells. Finn had proved to be the perfect companion to spend the rest of her childhood and now young adulthood with. They worked together and provided the income her mother so desperately needed now that Billy had passed away as well in what the news had claimed to be a terrible boating accident, even though Aubrey had moved out into her own little place two years prior. Aubrey was shocked her mother had handled his death well, considering all she'd lost before him. Finn had been distraught for years and even Aubrey had felt a sense of dread. But time marched on and so did she.

"You were staring at the sea again," Jim came over to her and Aubrey sighed as she set the rag down again. "You'll get plenty of beach time after your shifts over. Then you gotta come back for the drunks at nine."

"Unfortunately," Aubrey chuckled and turned to face Jim before walking over to the bar and reaching around for more cleaning solution. "You always book me for the night shift instead of Sheila; you must know how much I love hearing about Mr. Ferguson's divorce troubles don't you?"

"I trust you Aubrey," Jim replied and he sat down on one of the barstools. "That's why I put you on the night shift. I'm mostly doing work in my office then and I know you're not gonna steal from the cash register or poison the peanuts while I'm not around."

"I still don't know why you haven't fired Sheila yet," Aubrey rolled her eyes as she wiped down the last two tables by the window and moved on to the inner ones. "She's a piece of work."

"I could say the same thing about your stepbrother," Jim sounded annoyed. Aubrey stiffened at the mention of Finn. He'd woken up early that morning, just like every morning, she couldn't understand why he continued to be late. "Where is Finn anyway? He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago?"

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," Aubrey tried to make excuses. She was sick of covering for Finn, but she still couldn't throw him under the bus. They needed all the money they could get. "He's never intending to be late okay? He just gets caught in his thoughts."

"I know the kid's been through a lot," Jim sighed and got up from the red vinyl stool, it creaked as he did so. "But he can't abandon his job for his mind. I need all men on deck here and he's one of them. He's a hard worker and I know how much you two are struggling, but if he keeps this up I'm gonna have to let him go...I'm sorry Aubrey."

"I," Aubrey tried to protest, tried to make up some sort of excuse, but there were none to give. Finn would have to face Jim eventually regarding the matter. She could only protect him so much, though she wanted to fiercely. "I understand Jim. I'll tell him when he gets here."

"Tell me what?" A man with shaggy blonde hair and eyes as blue as the waves outside came up behind Aubrey. He stared at his boss and then his stepsister, confused.

"You're late again," Jim said, his tone was boss like, but Aubrey knew he was putting on a show. He knew how much the jobs meant to Aubrey and her stepbrother even if they didn't always show up on time and he was short staffed enough as it was. "Don't make this a habit boy. It's already turning into one. I need you here relatively on time and ready to work you got it?"

"Yes sir." Finn nodded, truly meaning it. Jim walked off after he finished his pseudo lecture and Finn went behind the bar and grabbed his apron before tying it around his waist. He wiped his nose with his hand and grabbed a mop before getting to work immediately. Aubrey inspected him, the salt clinging to his skin and the water dripping down his back from the tips of his hair, before walking over.

"You were in the ocean again," Aubrey whispered. "You knew you had work. Why didn't you just come in time?"

"I got lost in thought again okay?" Finn pushed the mop around and cleaned the floor under the bar where the most peanut shells were dropped. "It happens."

"It seems to happen to you a lot." Aubrey gave him a look.

"What do you want me to say Brie?" Finn was the only one allowed to use her nickname besides Aubrey's mother. "Huh? I can't explain it I just...get in the water and I get lost. I lose all track of time. It's like I'm supposed to stay down there, but I know I'm not. You of all people should understand something like that."

"Finn," Aubrey said in an almost parental tone. "You know you need this job. For mom's sake you need to bring home a paycheck. She's given you and me so much even before Billy died. It's the least you owe her to show up on time to get all of the money you can for your hours."

Finn glared at her, but then his expression changed to a more normal Finn look as he went back to cleaning the grungy dark floor below. The door bell chimed as their first customers for the day arrived.

"We'll talk later," Aubrey turned around and greeted the two men who had just walked in, looking slightly hung over and ready for more. They leered at her and then gave Aubrey grins, a few teeth missing from each of their mouths. It was truly another day in paradise. "Welcome to Shakas gentlemen. What can I get for you?"

 **Reviews are appreciated!**

 **So what does everything think so far?**

 **I hope this first chapter made sense! Sam and Dean will come to town in chapter two!**

 **More to come soon!**


	3. Crime Scene

Two

"You really think this is one our gigs?" Dean asked from the passenger side seat of the Impala. He was munching on French fries and practically driving with his knee. It was making Sam nervous, but he didn't vocalize it.

"Sure sounds like it," Sam shuffled through the papers he had collected on the case information. "I mean ten dead over the last few years and all of them were unaccounted for after that. The only evidence left behind was material items and blood. It's in Beverly Beach, Florida. A small tourist town with quaint little local houses it says. Despite the aesthetic appeal, I figured it was worth looking into."

"Yeah well ever since the radar went dry on dad I've been bored as Hell anyway." Dean threw the empty carton of fries into a plastic bag on the floorboard and put his other hand back on the wheel. He turned the radio up a bit louder and some Jimmy Buffett song was blasting on the radio. Sam found it rather appropriate. Dean had the windows down to let the warm air flow through the car and back out of the windows. He smiled and adjusted his sunglasses on his nose before talking to Sam again. "It's worth looking into."

"I'm glad it has your approval Dean," Sam chuckled. "Though I suspect you really just wanna get some drinking in more than anything?"

"You know me so well Sammy." Dean laughed and stepped on the gas towards Beverly Beach.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

The dock was littered with policemen and detectives of all kinds. Dean and Sam flashed their fake FBI badges and easily made their way under the police tape towards the fishing boat under investigation. The Sheriff was overseeing everything and Dean looked around for any signs of anything out of the ordinary. He showed the Sheriff his badge and Sam followed suit.

"I'm surprised it took the Feds so long to get on this." the Sheriff said. "There have been ten murders already. All the same MO. It seems like serial killer level work here, boys."

"Agreed," Sam nodded. "That's what we thought as well."

"Well the boss just now gave us the order to come here," Dean explained. "So here we are. I'd appreciate it if you'd fill us in Sheriff-?"

"Vernon," the Sheriff nodded. "Sheriff Leon Vernon. And there's not much that's any different from the others I'm sure you've read in the case file?"

"A refresher would be appreciated Sheriff," Sam smiled curtly. "We're awful busy at the office and sometimes things slip our minds."

"Well the vic was Mr. Curtis Mann," Sheriff Vernon explained. "He lived alone on his boat and brought in a new net full of fish almost every day. He kept to himself mostly and his family left him alone, by that I mean alone, not even a card at Christmas. I don't think they approved of him following in the family business that much."

" _That makes two of us."_ Sam thought.

"The body was found, but it was shredded into something unrecognizable," Vernon continued. "His wallet was missing along with his belt, but we ruled that out as the tide taking them away until we checked out the boat. Several items of value were stolen including over five hundred dollars in cash Curtis had made from fishing the day before yesterday. Everything else is intact. Well, besides the blood everywhere."

"Thanks Sheriff," Sam said and started off towards the boat. "You mind if my partner and I take a look around? I'm sure your men have already scoured the place, but a fresh pair of eyes won't hurt."

"Sure thing agents," Vernon nodded. "Take your time."

Sheriff Vernon barked orders at his men to search the rest of the dock for signs of the person responsible and Sam and Dean climbed aboard the fishing boat, avoiding the sectioned off parts and making it inside after only a few minutes of struggling on a wet deck. Dean pulled out his EMF reader and fired it up. The machine came up negative everywhere he went in the boat's cabin.

"It's not a ghost," Dean said. "And it's not anything like one."

"A werewolf, maybe?" Sam inquired.

"The moon doesn't match the attacks." Dean shook his head. "Potentially a vampire, but keep thinking. It could be something less obvious."

"I'll have to crack open the books when we get back to the motel." Sam replied with a sigh. "I hope it's something easy."

"Don't we all?" Dean chuckled a little and walked with Sam back to the deck of the boat. They carefully climbed around the crime scene tape and back onto the rickety dock nearby. Dean readjusted his tie and looked over at the beach nearby. It was desolate except for one man who seemed to be staring right at the crime scene. Dean cocked his head and narrowed his eyes to get a better look at the man.

He was younger than Dean, but not a teenager. He had almost white blonde hair that was shaggy and fell in an almost sculpted way around his face. He wore a tank top and board shorts, he was lacking shoes and he was staring intently at the boat. Dean debated calling out his name, but the man turned his head, saw Dean, and started walking away. Any other person would have concluded that he was simply an onlooker, but something did not sit completely right with Dean. He vowed if he ever saw the man again he would ask him a few questions. Sam broke the older Winchester out of his trance with a touch to the shoulder.

"What is it?" Sam inquired.

"What?" Dean was a little startled, but regained his composure. "Nothing. Let's get back to the motel. I want out of this monkey suit so we can do some on foot action."

"Ah c'mon you look great." Sam smirked as he and Dean made their way back to the Impala parked near the docks. "Aren't you glad I picked these out?"

"About as glad as someone is about a hernia bitch." Dean gave his brother a look.

"Gee thanks jerk." Sam replied and got into the car before Dean drove off towards their motel room.

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	4. Murder Number Two

Three

Aubrey leaned over the counter and wiped away some crumbs from the remains of a fish sandwich that had been served to a customer earlier. She rolled her eyes as a few of the older customers leered and made rude gestures towards her as she wiped away the food. It's not like she meant to show her cleavage or anything, it was the stupid shirts Jim had given his employees. They were too tight and went down way too far on some of the girls. Aubrey secretly suspected that he had down it on purpose, but he had always been good to her so she didn't want to think of her employer and friend as a pervert. Still, she was jealous of Finn's uniform. Her stepbrother wore a tank top and board shorts. That was the mandatory uniform for the guys who worked for Jim. The girls were forced to wear the awkwardly cut t-shirts and jeans. Jim wanted to go for a beachy yet bar look and he sure had achieved it.

"Hey there pretty lady," a man jeered at Aubrey. She could barely hear him over the loud ass Jimmy Buffett music playing, but he leaned in close enough to make her uncomfortable. "Can I slip ya a fifty for a few rounds? What do you say huh?"

Aubrey knew he was not talking about drinks by the way he looked at her. She narrowed her eyes and declined, moving as far as she could away from him behind the bar. She was praying for an order so she would not have to stay there any longer. Vicky McIntosh, the other girl behind the bar smiled at her with a full set of pearly white teeth. Her dreads were down to her butt and she was wearing the same uniform as Aubrey with some minor adjustments and piercings on her body. She had a tattoo of a jellyfish going up her left arm to her shoulder and she was typically the one who accompanied Aubrey behind the bar on their busiest nights. She was known for her give no shits attitude and her kick ass drink making skills.

"Cheer up," Vicky was busy making a Sex on the Beach on the back counter. "At least you're not like Sissy she's out there getting groped and having food and drinks and God knows what else spilt down the front of her."

"Yeah I guess you're right," Aubrey sighed as she cleaned a few of the glasses, trying to look busy so she would not have to deal with drunken men. Sheila or "sissy" to most everyone younger than her was the oldest out of all of them, but she was still young and beautiful enough to make guys want her. "I just wanna get out of this scene as soon as I can."

"Where would you go?" Vicky asked. They had this talk quite often. "You love the ocean too much to leave. Plus your estranged mother and your super hot stepbrother are here."

"Ew, don't hit on Finn like that in front of me!" Aubrey giggled a little. She knew a lot of the girls at work and even in passing liked to check out Finn, but Aubrey had a sense of protectiveness over Finn even though he was only three years younger and perfectly capable of managing his own life. Besides his tendency to be late for work half the time Finn was a fully functioning adult and Aubrey knew eventually she would have to step back.

"I can't help it." Vicky gave her a look. "He's kinda dreamy no offense, but I know you've got a chokehold on him so I'll leave him be."

"I do not have a chokehold on Finn," Aubrey defensively replied. "He can do whatever he wants."

"Except when it's dinner time," Vicky listed off. "Or when it's time for work or when it's time to visit your mother or—"

"Okay I get it." Aubrey rolled her eyes again. "Look, I just worry about him okay? Ever since Billy died and ever since Finn got older he's been acting differently. I just wanna make sure he's not depressed."

"I doubt a man or a woman or even a child could be depressed in Florida," Vicky said. "Unless there's a hurricane honey everybody's happy here."

" _Then why wasn't Billy happy here,"_ Aubrey thought to herself. " _Why did he have to go on that boating trip by himself? Why did he have to drown?"_

"Aubrey!" Jim called out in passing. "Someone made a mess in the bathroom could you clean it up please? Thanks!"

Aubrey groaned loudly and earned a few laughs from the bar's occupants. Vicky suppressed a grin and Aubrey reached for the mop and the bucket and made her way away from Vicky. She was about halfway to the bathrooms before Finn stopped her. He grabbed her arm and took the mop from her.

"I got it." He said.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah," Finn smiled. "I'm sure."

Aubrey smiled back and patted him on the arm in sympathy. She promised to take his orders and run them in payment for taking on the disgusting job of the bathroom. Vicky smiled as Aubrey came back over and complimented her stepbrother for taking one for the team.

"Now to run orders to horny drunken men," Aubrey gave Vicky a 'help me' look and grabbed her first tray of the next long hour. "What a life right?"

"Tis the way down here in the tropics," Vicky replied. "Booze, sex, and relaxation for all, but us. Yep, living the dream baby!"

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

"I don't have a damn clue as to what we're dealing with do you?" Dean asked Sam as he flipped through the many channels of nothing on television. Sam was sitting at the dining table doing research on water creatures, trying to ignore the sounds from the computer and the inviting beach nearby. The Winchesters never got a vacation and this was as close as they had ever come besides the one case they had in Key West. It was another hunt though and once it was done they would leave. Sam sighed at the depressing thought and continued searching through the archives of the internet.

"There are loads upon loads of water creatures," Sam explained. "It could be any of them. I just gotta keep digging I guess."

"You do that," Dean leaned back onto the bed. "I'm gonna take a siesta because we are in paradise baby. Just feel that summer breeze."

"Don't remind me Dean," Sam rolled his eyes. "We're only here until the hunt is finished then we're leaving."

"Yeah," Dean shrugged. "But we could always come back for another hunt."

"Don't you ever dream of having an actual vacation?" Sam asked, rather desperately. He supposed it was the warm salty air that was getting to him.

"Hunters don't get vacations," Dean adamantly explained. "Besides we're picking up where dad left off, aren't we? Saving people and hunting things? That's what we get to do."

"Okay," Sam said. "Sorry for my notion."

Dean sighed. He wanted to tell Sam differently. He wanted to tell him that they could have vacations and do normal things that normal people do, but they were hunters. Born and raised into the life. And there was no changing that. They had to protect people because without their expertise and protection people would die and Dean hated failure in anything that he did. Dean leaned back against the headboard and crossed his ankles. Sam went back to scrolling on the web.

The breeze continued to blow and the waves continued to lap against the beach shore.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

Gregory Hamsa walked out of Shakas completely blitzed and laughing to himself. He had had way too many beers and he stumbled away from the road towards the beach. The sand felt good under his feet after he removed his tennis shoes and he made his way towards the waves. The lights from the city shone in the distance and the street lights cast an orange glow over the area. Gregory smiled and started stripping off his clothes. Once he was in his boxers he dove in. The water was cool on his hot skin and he came up for air immediately after diving under. He smoothed his hair back out of his eyes and took a deep breath of air, kicking to stay afloat.

Suddenly though his leg was being bitten into. He screamed, but nobody heard. His lungs filled with water as he was dragged under. He looked down at his stump foot and tried not to panic so as not to swallow more water, but it was hard when he saw a grey mass with a giant white teeth coming his way.

Then it all went black.

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 **More to come soon!**


	5. Questions and Answers?

Four

Aubrey felt the morning wind off the water caress her cheeks and she pulled her jacket tighter to her body as she huddled among the masses on the shoreline watching as the police pulled another body from the water. They identified him and Aubrey suppressed a breath. Gregory Hamsa had been a regular in Shakas for as long as she could remember and she had no words to describe how she felt about someone she knew lying dead in front of her. It was not the first time she'd had someone she knew die, but she had not seen Billy's body. Nobody had seen anything, but his boat.

The crowd thinned and Aubrey remained where she stood. The palm trees nearby shimmied and rustled in the breeze and the occasional car drove down the strip. She cast her gaze down at the blood stained sand under where Gregory had been lying before the medical examiners had taken his body away and she watched as the waves tried to take back what had been theirs for the evening. She only broke her concentration when she heard two deep voices which clearly did not belong to the local cops.

She looked up to see two FBI agents flashing their badges and talking to the police about what had happened. The Sheriff was rushing through an explanation having to do with sharks more than likely, but Aubrey could tell that the FBI agents were not buying it. Aubrey spun around when she heard panting and footsteps approaching fast.

"What did I miss?" Finn asked, out of breath from his morning run.

"Just murder," Aubrey did not mean to sound so pompous, but she did regardless. "Nothing big..."

Finn bristled at the words she spoke. Aubrey noticed the evident fear behind his eyes. She wondered where such a raw emotion had come from, but before she could answer the cop cars disbanded and left the two FBI agents by themselves. Finn made a move to leave and Aubrey decided it was best to follow him when the shorter of the two agents laid eyes on her. She walked over towards Shakas and went inside, Finn at her heels. She could not afford any sort of trouble the agents brought with them and from the look on Finn's face at the gruesome crime scene she could not afford to have either of them be questioned about it either.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

Dean could not get the image of the woman on the beach out of his head. She had been as sun kissed and blonde as any Florida girl, but something had struck a different chord with Dean than the usual girls he and Sam ran into on hunts. She had been merely an observer in the whole mess until the end after everyone had left and as quickly as she had ushered the man next to her away from the beach and into the bar nearby, Dean had his suspicions she ran deeper than the typical blonde bimbo headed for trouble in Miami.

He had to talk to her. That much, he did know.

"That girl today at the crime scene," Dean brought it up as nonchalantly as possible.

"Dean," Sam rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry to inform you that this isn't a good time to try to get laid."

"Dude you didn't even know what I was going to say," Dean scoffed. "Anyway, the girl today at the crime scene and that other guy, they reacted strangely to the whole thing and I want to just talk to her is all."

"Just so you know," Sam closed the book he had been reading. "I don't endorse you trying to get your rocks off in every possible town we go into when there are usually people going missing or dying."

"Very well Samantha," Dean grabbed his leather jacket off the coat hook nearby. He was thrilled to be out of the suits they had worn during the investigation. "I'll just find you a nice romance novel to curl up with to suppress your urges. We real men need a distraction from the gruesome and gross sometimes ya know?"

"Whatever you say Dean," Sam resisted the urge to roll his eyes a second time as he shrugged on his jacket too. "Just don't come crying to me when she tells you she's taken."

"With a face like that," Dean commented as they left the motel room. "I wouldn't be surprised Sammy."

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

The smooth sound of Toad The Wet Sprocket's _Butterflies_ rang through the bar's speakers. Dean and Sam were seated at a booth a few inches from the actual bar and taking in the scenery as they both munched on the french fries Dean had ordered for the two of them. He was waiting on his burger and staking out the girl from the beach and where she could possibly be. The raven haired girl behind the bar wore a skimpy top and shook the drink mixer like a pro as she made beverage after beverage for lonely man after man and ignored their attempts to hit on her repeatedly as she continued to do her job flawlessly. She was not the woman Dean had seen on the beach, but she was a close second compared to her.

Dean had not seen the man who had been with the beach girl either. He assumed they were casual drinkers at the bar upon first glance of them entering it, but once he had checked the opening and closing times Dean had determined the pair had to be employees of the establishment and he was reeling for his chance to question at least one of them, preferably the girl. Sam had not been wrong in saying Dean's libido guided his actions sometimes. It was a habit he was proud of though and one he had no intention of fixing.

The music changed to an old hit by an eighties band called _The Bodeans_ and Dean scoped out the barstool crowd. Each person was a man who clearly had had one too many drinks and the girl currently behind the bar was trying to usher them along, but they were not listening, that is until the girl on the beach showed up.

She was wearing the same uniform as the woman with the black hair, but in Dean's humble opinion, it looked much better on her tanned skin. She adjusted the ponytail behind her head and motioned for the drunks to get lost. They were being cut off and they left without so much as an argument. The girl had power. Dean smirked and got up with a warning glare from Sam.

"Relax," Dean said. "I'm checking on my burger."

"I know that's not the only meat you want right now." Sam motioned to the girl and Dean rolled his eyes as he got up from his seat and made his way over to the bar.

"Say," Dean started off all casual as he leaned against the counter. "You wouldn't happen to know what's happening back there with my bacon cheeseburger, would you?"

"Damn it all to hell!" the girl even looked hot while cursing. Dean was practically drooling on the inside despite his warnings from Sam to stay focused on the case. "I told the chef to hurry the fuck up! I'm sorry Mr...?"

"Winchester," Dean smiled his signature grin. "Dean Winchester."

"You look familiar," his smile had no effect on her and Dean took it not as a challenge, but a shock. "I'm pretty sure you're the fed I saw chewing out the cops this morning."

"Well," Dean shrugged. "I wouldn't say I was chewing him out, but I wanted answers and I guess he didn't have any. I suppose you wouldn't happen to know anyone who would?"

The girl gave Dean a look and stared for a moment. Dean thought that he finally had a lead in that minute, but the girl must have been spooked by his accusation because she stopped looking at him and continued with her job behind the bar.

"The chef will have your burger on your table in a moment, I'll make sure of that," she replied with a curt nod as she cleaned out a glass with an already dirty rag. "As for the answers you're looking for, I can't help you Mr. Winchester. I know about as much as you do and I suggest you keep that grin to yourself or you'll have every lady within a mile radius on you in one minute flat."

He had been shot down in both aspects and Dean swallowed hard before nodding and walking away, but not without noticing two things. The girl's name was Aubrey, it said so on her nametag. Second, the man she had been with had been by the bathrooms cleaning when Dean had been questioning Aubrey and he had taken off the second Dean had looked his way.

He could not help, but think that Aubrey was hiding more than she would have liked to admit.

 **Reviews are appreciated!**


	6. Brother On The Beach

Five

Aubrey hated on being on closing. Getting the drunks to leave Shakas was always the hardest job of the night. Half of them were complacent; they just needed help getting their swaggering asses out of the building. The other half was angry customers who demanded one more drink before they left. Aubrey always knew that one drink would turn into fifty if she did not get them out and so she always did with some help from Vicky. The older bartender left at the same time Aubrey did and wished her farewell as she hailed a cab to get to her faraway house. Aubrey waved and hopped onto her bike. She was about to leave when the image of Gregory Hamsa hit her hard. He had died a few feet from where she was standing. She had sent him home early. If she had not he would still be alive. She knew she could not let the guilt eat away at her like the crabs did to the scraps at the bottom of the pier. The last thing Aubrey thought she was was scraps.

"Aubrey," Finn broke her concentration and she shook away her thoughts, turning to face her stepbrother. "Is everything okay?"

Finn's stormy eyes matched the emotions inside of her chest. She wanted so badly to tell him she was feeling, but it was stupid to think of what if's when a man was dead and gone and never coming back to life. Finn's shark tooth necklace fit perfectly against his tan skin and she could not help, but stare at it. Sharks were responsible for the deaths around Beverly Beach and Finn was endorsing the monster around his damn neck! Aubrey then recalled she was sporting a similar necklace, the one that Billy had given to the both of them as a reminder of him. Her anger simmered until it died. Sharks were not typically killers. Something had to provoke them and make them kill or attack. Aubrey sighed and forced a smile at her brother as she absentmindedly fiddled with her necklace.

"Everything's fine," she lied. "I'm just tired that's all."

"Let's get home before that storm hits," Finn suggested. "I'm sure mom could use the help bringing in the furniture."

Aubrey nodded and the pair rode their bikes up the street and around a few corners towards home.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

The house was dark, save for a few lights on upstairs and a candle lit in the living room. Aubrey's mom was in the downstairs bathroom and the water from the sink was running, signaling she was almost done. Finn and Aubrey had already pulled their bikes under the driveway awning to avoid them getting rained on or swept away by the wind and Finn made his way towards the back deck to get started on the lawn furniture. Aubrey began to pull the shutters on all of the downstairs windows to avoid them breaking. Soft and beachy music was playing quietly on the radio in the corner of the room and Aubrey's mom came out from the bathroom with a tired smile on her face.

"Hey mom," Aubrey returned the smile. "Do you want help with the furniture? Finn already got started."

"No I think he can handle it," Linda, her mother smiled and sat down on the plush white couch. "I didn't want to be entirely alone tonight anyway..."

Billy Grappel had died in a storm similar to the one set to hit Beverly Beach that night. Aubrey knew it always brought back terrible memories for her mother whenever thunderstorms hit the small town. Linda always felt guilty that she had not told Billy to stay home and she had simply trusted his instincts. Billy trusting his instincts had caused a flipped sailboat and a death that the three remaining members of the household had yet to recover from even though it had been years. Billy's presence was still evident all over the residence. Half of the furniture was his and Finn's. Photographs were framed and placed everywhere, all of happy times. Memories littered the place. Aubrey could remember Billy and Linda dancing in the kitchen to any old song and laughing and smiling. She could remember Finn replacing all of her Barbie dolls heads with various other action figure's heads. She could recall the second the house started feeling less and less empty after her father's untimely death after Billy had come into their lives. Now the house had a void once more and she was hard pressed to fill it.

"He wouldn't want you to be sad," Aubrey broke the silence. The waves were crashing outside. The storm was brewing. "He wouldn't want you to cry over his mistake."

"He was such a good sailor," Linda stared at the various shells she and her family had collected over the years that were on the built in bookshelves in front of her. "I guess I'll just never understand."

"Maybe it's something we're not meant to understand." Aubrey suggested.

"You always were the other logical one in this family," Linda smiled. "You must have gotten that from your father."

"I wish I could ask him that," Aubrey gave her mom a small smile. "Him and Billy, I bet they're getting alone great."

"They're probably fishing together," Linda chuckled. "And arguing about whose Hobie Cat is better."

Aubrey and Linda laughed. Aubrey could picture her father losing that argument. Billy may have come from Indiana, but he was certainly an ocean man through and through. She missed him terribly, especially on stormy nights. Sometimes (when it was safe to), he would take her down onto the sand and show her the light show out over the water, warning her never to go in the water during a thunderstorm or she would get struck by lightning. She always wondered why her stepfather had not taken his own advice that night.

"I'm headed to bed," Linda stood up. "Have a good night sweetie."

"I will, mom." Aubrey smiled and hugged Linda, letting her mom kiss her on the cheek. Linda did the same to Finn when he passed by and then she trudged upstairs toward her bedroom. Aubrey and Finn double checked that everything was accounted for and all the doors and windows were locked downstairs before the two of them went to their rooms to sleep.

Aubrey flopped onto her cushy bed and before she even had a chance to change she was out like a light.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

The wind and the rain woke her. She blinked a few times and stared at the alarm clock flashing red numbers beside her bed. The power must have gone out. She groaned and sat up in bed, remembering she was still in her work clothes. She stretched and then changed into pajamas with every intention to slip right back into bed. That is, until something caught her eye outside.

She blinked a few more times to ensure she was not dreaming.

Finn was out on the beach with three other guys. The others were much bigger and buffer than him, but they were looking at him like an equal rather than below them. Finn was saying something that Aubrey could not make out even though she could see his lips moving. The tallest guy with dark brown hair and the most solid build nodded and motioned for Finn and the others to follow him. Finn took a deep breath and obediently followed the three other men. Aubrey debated running after him, maybe following him? Her thoughts were clouded by sleep though and she made her way back to her bed with the nagging thought that it was just a dream and Finn was safely sleeping in his bed the next room over.

She kept those fantasies warm until she fell into a deep sleep once more.

 **Reviews are appreciated!**

 **So, was Finn really out on the beach or was it a dream?**

 **Also, how did such a good sailor make a foolish mistake?**

 **More to come soon!**


	7. One Death Too Many

Six

Dean and Sam were standing on the beach in front of the bar they had decided to visit the night before. The sun was coming through the clouds in intervals and the breeze was blowing, ever so slightly caressing their faces. The police and local LEOS were swarming the scene and taking pictures and roping it off so that no passerbies were allowed to enter the beach area. Sam and Dean had flashed their fake badges so that they could observe. They had managed to trick the sheriff into letting them do some in depth snooping, with gloves on of course.

Dean inspected the body while Sam walked around and observed the surrounding area. The sand was pigmented pink once again from the fresh blood of the victim and the waves were coming in fast, almost like they were trying to cover up the sand's mistake. Besides the impending tide and a stain in the sand, Sam had nothing. That is, until he spotted something on the edge of the water. He scanned the area around him before discreetly bending down and picking it up and pocketing it. It could have been nothing, but a lost trinket. Sam was not taking chances, though. He nodded at Dean and the pair ducked under the yellow tape and watched as citizens.

Dean heard a gasp to his left and he looked over to see the girl from the bar.

"Oh my God," she clasped her hand to her mouth. "Jim!"

Dean deemed her reaction to be genuine. She clearly was not faking it and she obviously had not expected to see this when she was going to work today. Her eyes were brim with tears and the other bartender, the older dark haired one, made the girl look away as she tried to calm her down.

Sam had been more intrigued by a trinket hanging around the girl's neck. It looked similar to the one he had found on the beach. Sam wanted to say something, but the police began to corral everyone and send them away. The girl and two other workers, one male and the older one began to walk away in the direction of the bar nearby to prepare for what to do next, despite the grim discovery. The other passerby left without a word or a trace and Sam and Dean walked back towards their faithful Impala. Dean stared at the three employees of Shakas one last time before throwing the car into drive and taking off down the road towards their motel room.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

In the true spirit of Florida, Jim's brother and acting boss since Jim's untimely death, did not want the party to end. So, Aubrey was forced to work the night shift of her boss's murder. As unsettling as it was, she had to admit that she didn't mind the extra money Jim's brother had agreed to pay her. The atmosphere was different, though and Aubrey would have given her left ear to Picasso to just go home. She had to grin and bear it. Vicky was doing a fantastic job holding her own when it came to serving drunks and diners and Finn was doing a great job cleaning up. Aubrey felt as though she was dreaming throughout the whole thing.

In her daydream, Jim was still alive. He was living it up in the back office and now a man she barely knew sat in Jim's seat. Jim would never eat or drink or speak or breathe or hear another Jimmy Buffett song again. Jimmy Buffett was his favorite. Jim was gone. Jim was dead. It was not right. Not that Aubrey ever wished death upon anybody or cheapened it in any way, but this time the death was personal and Aubrey had the sneaking suspicion it would not be the last one.

She felt as though things could only get worse from where she was standing.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

"You'll thank me for this beer later." Dean walked through the front door of the motel room and cracked open one of the beers he had bought at the convenience store and sat across from his younger brother at the dining table. "Ground control to Major Tom? Is anybody in there?"

"Dean," Sam swallowed and turned his computer. "You're never going to believe what I think our monster is..."

 **Reviews are appreciated!**


	8. Aubrey Sees The Truth

Eight

"So what you're saying is," Dean was both confused and slightly amused. "We're dealing with Nanaue the Shark Man?"

"Think we're dealing with his ancestors," Sam explained. "Nanaue was born to the shark king Kamohoalii and his human lover, Kalei whom he fell desperately in love with before having to return to the sea and leave her and his son behind. Nanaue was mostly human except that he was never to eat flesh or meat or he would change. Once he did for the first time, he became essentially a shark shape shifter. The story goes that the people of the island killed him, but God only knows how many people he was with before that happened. Whoever or whatever our killer is, I think they're related to Nanaue."

"Great," Dean muttered. "That means it could by anybody and they shape shift into nature's most feared ocean creature. This is gonna be fun!"

"I found something on the beach this morning," Sam explained and pulled out the necklace he had found in the sand. "It may be nothing, but I've seen a guy wearing something similar."

Sam showed his brother the trinket. Dean took it in his hands and inspected the markings on the wood. They were most definitely Hawaiian. He had seen a necklace similar to it before. He just could not think of where he had. The older Winchester cursed under his breath and set the necklace down on the table.

"So," he said. "Where do we go from here?"

"We have to track down anyone in the area who wears something like this," Sam explained his plan. "Unfortunately, so far I've only seen one person who owns one."

Dean though back to the night at the bar. The low light had not allowed him much of a mental picture of the girl behind the bar, but as Dean thought back he remembered something of great importance from that night.

"The girl behind the bar wore one of those too," Dean pointed at it. "I'll be if we can get her to talk we can figure it who's behind this?"

Sam smiled and nodded and once their beers were down to foam in the bottom of the bottle, the brothers set out to find the mystery girl.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

Aubrey was leaving the bar earlier than expected, but she had a stinging sensation in her gut that something was not right. Finn had disappeared way before her and she was determined to track him down and find out just what was going on with her stepbrother. Finn had been acting strange ever since the summer had begun and Aubrey did not know what to make of it. She knew that the loss of his father was certainly going to take a toll on Finn for the rest of his life, but he had been the one to originally suggest that the two of them bounce back from it right away to avoid certain depression.

Aubrey shook her head. She just did not get it.

As Aubrey walked, the warm air caressed her cheeks. She stopped and closed her eyes for a moment and took in the scent of the ocean. Aubrey liked to think of it as Billy, giving her a hug from beyond the grave. As creepy as that would have sounded to the average person, it often times kept Aubrey from going insane from lingering sadness. She sighed and opened her eyes before continuing the walk to where her bike was locked up. She undid the lock and began to unhook the chain from the bike.

Dean Winchester watched her intently from the driver's seat of the Impala. He was parked nearby with his lights off and observing the surrounding area from where all of the murders occurred. Personally, he did not believe it was such a great idea for a young woman like her to be wandering around after dark alone, but Dean had had enough mini run ins with the girl that he had deduced she was one tough cookie and could easily hold her own.

Then, he saw the goons vanishing into the alley near where she was standing. They all were pretty beefy and a few of them were covered in strange tattoos that wrapped all the way around their upper arms. The guy trailing the pack was a bit smaller than the rest, but far less confident and he looked awfully familiar. Dean squinted, his eyes narrowing to try and see who it was, but before he could even begin his deduction the girl stopped what she was doing and stared over at the group with clear recognition.

Aubrey gasped when she saw Finn among a group of strange men. She wanted to call out his name and rush over to him, but her judgment told her it was not a good idea. Somehow she knew that Finn would not be in the mood for a sibling to sibling talk at the moment. Aubrey silently lowered her bike to the pavement and crept along the side of the building, following the group.

Dean got out of the car and followed her. It was only a matter of time before the girl got herself hurt and Dean was not going to leave her alone and let that happen.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

"You promised us, Finn!" the tallest man practically snarled. "You said you'd stick around and finish what we started!"

"The FBI is here!" Finn exclaimed. "They won't take lightly when we try to explain it all to them!"

"You think you're so tough," the head guy scoffed. "You think you can just deny what you are and try to live a normal life. You told us what happened to your father. That's what happens to people like us who go against our nature."

Aubrey listened intently. She could not make out anybody else's face besides the head guy and Finn, but she knew that the lot of them had to be bad news. She swallowed a lump in her throat and debated jumping in there and dragging Finn home with her, making him explain everything along the way.

"I'm not like you," Finn protested, shaking his head and trying to escape their clutches. "I don't do it for fun! I don't want to do it at all!"

"It's deep inside you boy," the head guy threw his head back, mouth open in laughter. "You can't fight it no matter how hard you try."

Aubrey gasped. Despite most of the light being absent, save for one street light. She saw a mouth full of large sharp fang like teeth. She shook her head, hoping it was a trick of the light, but by the time she could check once more the guy had stopped laughing and he was back to intimidating her stepbrother.

"Get the hell away from me Harley!" Finn yelled and ducked as the head guy took a swing and missed.

"Finn! Get out of there!" Aubrey made the mistake of yelling his name and Finn along with all of the other guys turned their heads towards her and she swallowed hard before starting to take off running once she saw the teeth again.

Aubrey screamed as the man lunged at her. She tripped over her own feet as she went, but she managed to narrowly escape the alley before running smack dab into Dean's chest.

"Winchester..." she barely got the word out.

Dean stared down at her and his ears opened up again once he heard the sounds of feet in the alleyway.

"Do you have a car nearby?" Aubrey asked frantically.

Dean nodded, staring down at the necklace which rested around her neck. She had been running from the suspicious group along with following them, so she obviously was not with them. Dean could usually deduce a trick right away. This time he was not sure, but he knew that with any case he had to be willing to take his chances.

He nodded, still a bit entranced by the fact that she had, quite literally, fallen into his arms.

"Then drive!" the girl exclaimed and the pair ducked into the Impala. Dean squealed the tires as he took off just in time to leave the group of men in the dust. Aubrey stared back at Finn, who looked just as scared and heartbroken as she was. The lead guy, Harley, a smirk cascaded over his features and both Aubrey and Dean both could have sworn they had seen his eyes go an unnatural shade of yellow.

 **Reviews are appreciated!**


	9. The Kidnapping

Nine

Aubrey sat at the dining table in the Winchester's motel room. She was still in shock from what had happened. One minute she had been trying to talk to her brother and the next she had seen a row of perfectly white shark like teeth emerge from his friend's mouth. The moment after that she had jumped into Dean Winchester's Impala and the pair had sped away from the scene. Now she was sitting in a dingy old motel room, waiting for an explanation of what had happened to come into her head, but she had nothing.

"That must have been strange," Dean said, sitting down before her with two beers in his hand. "Seeing your brother as what he is."

"You could really use a coach," Aubrey snatched the beer and chugged some of it. "You know, on how to put things lightly."

"I'll keep that in mind sweetheart." Dean smiled a little.

Sam came in through the door and shut it tight behind him, locking both locks.

"I didn't see a sign of any of them," Sam explained in haste, grabbing a beer from the mini fridge and opening it. "I think they all took off after they saw Dean and after we kidnapped the one guy's sister."

"I willingly went with Dean," Aubrey snapped. "And that one guy, that's my brother Finn."

"Such an ironic name," Dean chuckled and took another sip of his beer to avoid Aubrey's death glare.

"Aubrey," Sam asked. "Did you have any idea of the type of people your brother ran with?"

"No," Aubrey sighed in admittance. "I don't keep track of Finn's friends. Even though I promised his dad that I'd watch out for him, I gave him some space when it came to that. I always trusted him to make good choices. I guess he didn't hold up his end of the bargain."

"Aubrey," Sam sighed. "Unfortunately, there's more to it than that."

Aubrey cocked her head in surprise. She could not possibly think of any kind of explanation for what she had seen that night.

"We believe that Finn isn't all that he's cracked up to be." Dean faced the girl again and tried not to stare too hard at her. Even she was a bit younger than him, he had to admit that she was a looker.

"I found this on the beach at the crime scene," Sam produced the necklace and laid it down on the table top. Aubrey immediately reached for the one around her neck. "It's not your brother's, but all of the guys he hangs around with? They all wear one as well."

"B-But..." Aubrey stammered.

"My brother and I are not FBI agents," Dean spilled the beans. "We hunt monsters and right now we're hunting what we believe is a descendant of the shark monster, Nanaue. Unfortunately, your brother Finn has proven to be quite the suspect."

"Finn isn't some kind of monster!" Aubrey refused to believe it, even though all of the evidence added up in her head.

"He doesn't want to be," Sam said. "Is there anything you can think of that confirms our theory?"

Aubrey thought back to all that Finn and she had been through. They had lost Billy in a terrible boating accident. In a thunderstorm of all things! Experienced sailors did not warn people not to do what Billy had done and then go and do it. Finn and Billy had moved from the middle of nowhere to be near the ocean. Billy had given them both a necklace similar to his own. It all added up and it was all so obvious right before Aubrey's eyes. She had to accept it. She then sighed and dove into the back-story.

"Finn and his father moved to Beverly Beach from Indiana," Aubrey explained. "They claimed that so long on the mainland that they needed water again. Billy met my mom and married her. They were so in love and he was the best stepfather I could have ever had. One night he...he went sailing in a thunderstorm and he died. The authorities found his boat, but never his body. It was lost at sea."

"I really hate to speak ill of the dead," Sam sighed. "But I don't think he died when he went out to sea. I think he wanted to make it look like he died."

Aubrey nodded. There was no use arguing. The thought had crossed her mind as well.

"So," she asked. "What will you do if it turns out to be Finn who killed all of those people?"

"We'll have to help him," Dean said, showing Aubrey a knife. "So he can't hurt anyone else or himself further."

Aubrey sighed. She had hoped there was another option and deep inside she wanted to beat the shit out of Dean for even suggesting killing her stepbrother. She settled instead for slapping him across his cheek and then she huffed and stomped off to the back porch.

Dean rubbed where her hand had made contact and Sam resisted the urge to laugh.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

Aubrey leaned on the railing near the table outside with her almost empty beer and she looked over at the water. Sometimes she could almost hear Billy's laugh in the waves. It was all an illusion, she knew, but it was comforting all the same. The warm breeze kissed her cheeks and she closed her eyes and sighed deeply at the familiar feeling.

"I suppose I deserved that one," Dean spoke up, referring to the slap she had bestowed upon him earlier. "I never should have suggested that way out."

"I'm not entirely sorry," Aubrey replied. "But you have to admit that a girl wouldn't be in her right mind if she just learned that her brother was a monster."

"Finn's a good person from what I've observed," Dean leaned on the railing too. "He's not like those other guys. They're the monsters doing this."

"I just," Aubrey was still in disbelief. "Monsters exist. I can't believe it."

"Sammy and me," Dean motioned to his brother in his bed, reading a book. "We hunt monsters. We kill only the bad ones and the others who mean no harm, we let them coexist with us as long as they never go after humans. I want to believe that your stepbrother is one of those monsters."

"Don't call him that," Aubrey gave Dean a look. "He's not what you think he is. He's a person all the same. No matter what his teeth look like, Finn is more human than those other guys."

"That's what we like to hear." Dean smiled.

Silence filled the air for a few moments before either of them spoke again.

"So," Aubrey said. "Once this is over, you and Sam will be leaving?"

"We always move on," Dean explained. "It's kind of part of the job. There's always another monster to hunt."

"Well," she turned to face him. "If it's any consolation, I enjoyed our little adventure ride tonight. And I have to thank you for saving me and helping to save my brother from whatever is going on."

Aubrey smiled and hugged Dean. She let go and sauntered over to the chair nearby and sat down. Dean caught a whiff of her coconut scented shampoo and almost shivered despite it being warm out.

"I'd like to be alone if you don't mind." Aubrey said. "It's still a lot to process."

"Yeah," Dean cleared his throat and tried to hide his flushed cheeks. "Yeah I'll just be...I'll go...that way, yeah."

He muttered something and went in through the sliding glass door. Aubrey chuckled as she watched him leave and she settled into her chair. Before she could process what was happening she fell asleep.

She woke up hours later with a hand thrown over her mouth and she was being dragged away from the motel into the unknown.

 **Reviews are appreciated!**


	10. Rescue and Reveal

Ten

Aubrey could barely breathe through the cloth that had been placed over her mouth and her eyes blurred from the impact against her face, but still she marched forward. She figured it was better to go along with whoever was dragging her off into oblivion than to fight and risk getting hurt, or worse, killed. She swallowed her fear once she heard the familiar lapping of the ocean water. Her vision came back into focus and she saw that she was at some sort of dock. The greenish blue water lapped at the wooden pillars beneath her and washed over the barnacles growing on them several times before her vision was directed elsewhere.

The cloth was yanked from her mouth and she was faced with the threat of the men in the alley. Finn was nowhere to be seen and the men he associated with were giving Aubrey stares worthy of hungry wolves. Their eyes were an unnatural yellow and their skin was grayish, almost as though they were border line sick. She resisted the urge to scream and yell, knowing full well that if she reached out for any kind of help that they were sure to eliminate her. She simply swallowed her fear and remembered the words of her stepfather.

" _A good sailor trusts his instincts and if the situation calls for it, he acts. Show no fear, Aubrey that is the only time when the sea will fail you."_

Aubrey touched her necklace subconsciously and swallowed hard.

"Where's my brother?" she demanded, glaring at the leader of the group.

"He had more important things to tend to," the leader grinned, a menacing smile that made Aubrey's skin crawl and her blood go cold. "Don't worry, we'll be sure to tell him you said hello. In fact, we'll even imitate your last dying breaths for him."

"What do you want with me?!" Aubrey exclaimed.

"You know about us," the leader stepped forward and glared at her instead, despite Billy's words, somehow Aubrey still felt the slightest bit afraid. "Those hunters have come to kill us. We simply wish to live and to hunt in the way we were born to do. Finn is one of us. He will never be human like you. You're simply holding him back from his destiny and we can't have that."

Two of the leader's henchmen appeared on either side of Aubrey and held her in an iron tight grip. She struggled to get away at first, but then noticed the leader moving towards a nearby boat and untying it from the post. Another henchman jumped into it and started it up. The leader flashed Aubrey a hateful grin.

"Let's go for a ride, shall we sweetheart?" he chuckled.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

The boat rumbled across the channel and then stopped abruptly. Aubrey was tied up in the small cabin with the driver and the other shark men were outside, dropping anchor and surveying for other boats passing by. So far, there were none, much to Aubrey's dismay. She leaned her head up to see out of the window and saw nothing, but an old piece of pier and a post nearby standing by itself. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stared at the driver.

"So," she said confidently, though her confidence was slowly fading. "You're gonna dump the body and hope I drown? That's brilliant! It's not like I won't wash up or anything. Besides, we're not that far out and I could always fancy a swim."

"Oh," the driver spun the wheel and the anchor dropped and the boat was in place. "Trust me princess, we're gonna have our fun first before we tear you to ribbons."

Aubrey's heart pounded. She was not ready to die! Not tonight! She still had so much to live for and her poor mother could not stand anymore losses. She still wanted to believe that Finn was among them and he would show up and untie her ropes while they were distracted and the two of them would swim back to safety and warn the authorities, but Finn did not come and Aubrey was starting to lose hope that he even would to begin with.

"Bring me the girl." The leader said and though Aubrey struggled, she could not escape her binds. She simply let out a deep sigh and prayed for the first time in her life.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

Sam and Dean were on the road, looking for any sign of where Aubrey had been taken. Dean was furious at himself for leaving her and Sam was hastily searching down every alleyway, crack, and crevice among the shops and bars from the car in hopes of spotting even a glimpse of her. So far, they were coming up short.

Dean banged his fists against the wheel of the Impala at the first stop light. He cursed under his breath and Sam hesitated to say anything at all. He knew how Dean got when they involved someone in a case without meaning to and worse, endangered their life. Sam sighed and continued to look until Dean parked the car in a public parking space and the two of them got out.

"We'll do better on foot," he said. "But also, we're looking in the wrong places. If they're sharks where will they run?"

"They'll run to the water..." Sam realized.

The two of them sprinted towards where the shark gang had been seen the night before and Dean searched all around for a sign, anything indicating her having been there. Finally, he found his answer.

A small bronze looking earring was lying on the dock under his feet and he looked to his left to find a boat missing, the rope cast aside ungracefully and hurriedly as though someone had not had much time. Sam jogged over and Dean pointed to the boat in front of the empty rope.

"How much do you remember about driving boats Sammy?" he asked.

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Aubrey was tied to the solitary post with old rope that reeked of dead fish and other things she did not want to know. She struggled against her restraints and the water all around her thrashed and moved with her. The piece of pier was too far away for her to reach or to swing her body onto. She was truly stuck. As much as she could admit that she loved the water, it was truly her worst enemy right in that second. She stared up at the night sky, most of the stars blocked out by the light of the city, but some of them were visible. She wished on those stars. She wished as hard as she could.

"This," the leader was on the end of the boat and he motioned to the open water around them. His cronies were positioned behind him and slowly they were shedding their clothes. Not desiring to see any of them naked, Aubrey tried to look away as best she could. "This is what I like to see. Humans, helpless as the day they were born! They're so much tastier this way."

A malicious smirk fell over his features and the others smirked as well as they dived, buck naked, into the water and vanished below the surface. Aubrey held her breath for a split second before a giant wave from their impact came towards her and she swallowed a small wall of water. Gagging and sputtering, she looked around her, but the men were nowhere to be found.

That is, until she saw shark fins, one by one, popping up above the surface of the water.

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Dean saw her first and he forced the boat to a stop, causing another wall of water to come Aubrey's way. She choked and sputtered, but managed to keep her head mostly above water. Dean looked around the boat at the sudden herd of sharks that had come out of seemingly nowhere. He then spotted the empty boat and the clothes on the bough.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed and looked around for any sign of Aubrey and once the waves settled, she appeared on the post. She struggled to yell at Dean and Sam, but they heard her despite her tight throat.

"Dean! Sam!" she screamed. "They're Nanaue's people! They're not like Finn! They're the ones who have been killing people and they're trying to kill me too!"

She managed to kick one shark as it approached, but the monster only shook underwater and circled again. Another always took its place right after. The leader's scarred fin poked out above the water and Aubrey resisted the urge to scream.

"Don't worry!" Dean yelled. "We'll help you!"

He frantically searched for something to use to cut her binds and when he found the perfect knife, he sheathed it and against Sam's better warnings and his own better judgment, Dean dove into the warm Florida water.

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Dean could barely see when he opened his eyes, the salt was too much, but on he pushed. He had to reach her! He could not let her die. He swam, furiously cutting through the waves and trying his best to get to Aubrey, who was masterfully kicking at both the sharks and the waves.

" _She's basically a natural at kicking shark men in the face now."_ He thought to himself.

Dean surfaced for air and to survey things from above before he was knocked to the side and crying out in pain at the object which had just struck him. A shark man's fin appeared moments later and Dean ducked back under the water. Two sharks were circling him now and he was trapped. Dean tried to stay afloat where he was and at the same time, not move too much because of the sharks. They would attack if he gave them an opportunity. Both sharks were poised to attack and Dean prepared for the blow.

But it never came...

The sharks were pushed aside by another shark and a bigger Great White shark followed behind the smaller one. The two shark men were jabbed in the side by the smaller shark's nose and pushed away from Dean. The shark men started to retreat, clearly injured by the smaller shark's bite. The smaller shark turned and formed a protective half circle around Dean as he came up for air and went back down once more. Dean stared into the eyes of the smaller shark.

He knew those eyes. Aubrey shared the necklace which was now a sort of tattoo on the shark's skin. Dean nodded once to inform the shark that he no longer needed immediate help, but to stay close. The shark obeyed and swam off to join the Great White, who was swimming near Aubrey and keeping the other shark men from coming close.

" _If Finn is the smaller shark,"_ Dean thought. " _Then who..."_

He shook off the thoughts and raced toward Aubrey. He had limited time to cut her free and get her to the safety of the boat. Dean made his way over to the back of the post and rose above the water to speak with Aubrey.

"Aubrey," Dean sputtered as water made its way into his mouth. "I'm gonna cut you free and then we have to swim to the boat okay? Sam's on board and he'll drive us away."

"The sharks," Aubrey yelled, almost tiredly though. "They're too strong!"

"We have some unexpected help down below," Dean explained. "Trust me we're not alone!"

Aubrey was a bit confused, until she saw two unfamiliar shark fins surface and then the sharks went down below the waves. She stared for a moment. Dean could see the gears turning. She knew. She had to know?

Dean sawed fast, but carefully. Eventually, he managed to free her and Aubrey and Dean took to the ocean. Aubrey took a deep breath and plunged under, slowly opening her eyes and readjusting them to the salty water despite her practically growing up in said water. She might as well have been born a fish like Finn had.

She stopped a moment to stare at the scene behind them. One smaller shark was gravely injured, but still fighting. It shot a look at Aubrey, almost like it was telling her to keep going. It struck Aubrey right away who it was. She almost opened her mouth in shock, but refused to suck in more water. Dean tugged at her arm just as the Great White gave her the same look. She could see the age in the Great White's eyes. She gasped once they breeched the surface.

Finn was hurt and Billy was defending her life from the bad shark monsters.

Billy was alive! Finn was hurt!

She wanted to jump back in and help them, but the other shark monsters were almost defeated. She needed to get out while she could. Deep down, she knew that. She swallowed her pride and climbed onto the boat and into the waiting arms of Sam.

He wrapped her in a towel and Aubrey sat in the cabin of the boat as Dean piloted it towards shore. Visions of shark fins danced in her head the whole time.

 **Reviews are appreciated!**

 **Epilogue comes next!**


	11. Finale

Eleven

Aubrey held tight to her mother as the crime scene was processed. The stolen boat was returned and its peeved owner was tracked down. Dean and Sam covered their tracks well by claiming that they saw her in trouble and they only stole the other boat to go rescue her from the bad guys. The police bought it, but Dean was forced to shell out quite a bit of money to pay a fine.

"I'm sorry I scared you mom," Aubrey hugged her mother as tightly as she could. "It won't happen again."

"You can't promise the second part," she chuckled, tears drying on her cheeks. "But I'm just glad you're safe this time."

Sam and Dean smiled from the sidelines, carefully moving around the officers who were putting up caution tape and taking pictures and notes. An ambulance was parked nearby and Finn was on the stretcher, his wounds being treated by the paramedics. He had some hefty and deep cuts, some of which would scar, but he looked over at Aubrey with the urgent need to hug her. She nodded at him and the both of them looked away when the other shark men were pulled off the stolen boat and dragged in handcuffs to cop cars. Aubrey knew they would be locked away for a long time and without access to the ocean they would probably go insane.

She couldn't feel for them like regular sea creatures though, she knew them to be monsters.

She hoped they dried up on the inside.

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Soon enough, the sun began to rise and the day began. Cars drove down the road in search of the perfect beach spot and some were simply passing through. The tourist traps were in full swing and shouting various slogans and sayings to get people in the shops. The bars were full of drunken locals and out of towners alike, singing and dancing and drinking to their heart's content. The waves were crashing rhythmically. And Aubrey was brushing her salt ridden hair, looking at herself in her mirror and thinking about a parting conversation she had had.

" _Here's our number," Dean had said. "Call us if you ever have any trouble ever again with any kind of monster, not just the kind with fins."_

 _"I will," Aubrey nodded and actually smiled this time. She was sick of feeling scared when the bad guys were behind bars. "Thanks Sam thanks Dean."_

 _"You're welcome," Sam nodded and smiled and got into the passenger side of the Impala, closing the door and waiting for Dean so that they could drive off._

 _"Well, I guess this is goodbye." Aubrey shrugged and Dean took a moment to stare at her eyes. They were the gentle color of the ocean. Dean contemplated convincing Sam to stay longer. He wanted to make sure Aubrey was okay. He wanted to see her happy instead of confused and sad over what had been happening. He wanted to see her. He admitted to himself that he wanted to be with her if only for one night. He was only human after all._

 _"Yeah," Dean nodded. "It is. Who knows though? Maybe we'll be back one day."_

 _Aubrey nodded. She knew it was highly unlikely, but mostly she held hope that the boys who saved her life would go off and do it again and again for so many others._

"Aubrey!" her mother's voice broke through her thoughts and brought her back to reality.

Aubrey smiled and set her brush down. She ran downstairs to where her mother was waiting with two sand buckets and an open door.

"Let's go." Aubrey smiled and grabbed her flip flops.

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Finn had volunteered to take Aubrey's shifts at Shakas for the week. He figured she deserved it after all she had gone through. She had thanked him immensely, but she felt bad about the scars the doctors proclaimed would never heal. Finn had simply smiled and told her that they were worthy battle scars. He had received them whilst protecting family and that was honorable and good enough for him. He entrusted her with his newly exposed secret and she promised she would not tell a soul as long as Finn never hurt a human.

His promise to stay clean meant the world to her.

Aubrey and her mom walked the beach until the sun started to officially rise and was halfway into the sky. They reached a small cove near their house and took a seat. They had found a good number of seashells and even a whole family of conchs. Aubrey's mom smiled as she dug her toes into the sand and Aubrey sat, watching the waves come in their usual fashion. Somehow though, today it seemed like they were dancing.

Aubrey debated telling her mom about what she had learned and seen, but she had determined it was best if certain details stayed hidden. Her mom would be able to handle the truth about as well as a heroin addict would be able to handle that last lethal dose. Aubrey would tell her eventually, but not today and not tomorrow and not a month or a year from now. She would tell her when she could handle it. She would tell her mother when she needed it the most.

For now, she was comfortable in keeping it all to herself.

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Sam had fallen asleep against the window and Dean was sick of hearing Jimmy Buffett. He changed the station the second they got out of town and sped away towards their next hunt, their next town.

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Aubrey smiled as the salt air hit her cheeks. She laughed with her mother and they let the ocean waves hit their legs. She fiddled with her necklace a few times and she thanked a God she didn't believe in that she was alive to see this day.

She could have sworn she saw the fin of a Great White out upon the water, but it was impossible to tell for sure.

 **The End!**

 **Reviews are appreciated!**

 **A/N: I have to admit, this is my favorite story I've ever written. Its ranking surpasses my story "In Blackest Night" and this story has been an adventure to write! That rhymed lol. Anyway, see y'all in the next story and thanks for reading this one!**


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